Global markets respond to the attack on Iran

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report: "Global markets respond to the attack on Iran"

Date: March 2, 2026
Host: Sabri Benishore (in for David Brancaccio)
Length: ~8 minutes (excluding ads and promotions)

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Episode Overview

This episode brings listeners up to speed on how global financial markets are reacting to the US and Israel's war with Iran. Key discussions include the impacts on oil prices, bond yields, and safe-haven assets like gold, along with the potential effects on US consumers. The episode also touches on the upcoming US jobs report and features a segment on the rise of "Vibe coding"—apps built quickly by AI instead of humans—and its implications for cybersecurity and innovation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market Reactions to the Iran Conflict

(00:55–02:34)

• Oil Prices:

  • Markets saw oil prices spike 6–7% amid fears of supply disruptions.
  • Julia Coronado, founder of Macro Policy Perspectives and professor at UT Austin, notes the likely effects on consumers.
  • Quote:

    "It probably won't take long for it to show up at the gas pump. It's a pretty big jump. And, you know, we just don't know how long this conflict is going to last. So, yeah, I would say that consumers will be seeing higher gas prices pretty quickly."
    — Julia Coronado, (01:29)

• Gold & Other Safe Havens:

  • Gold prices are up about 2% as investors seek safety.
  • Bonds, typically a refuge in times of uncertainty, showed mixed signals.
  • Market Uncertainty:
    • Usual patterns are disrupted; US Treasuries aren't the default 'safe place' anymore.
    • Quote:

      "We're in a world where markets and investors are increasingly uncertain about where their money is safe...the typical flight to safety doesn't favor US interest rates. It's gotten confused in a world where the US has been increasingly the source of uncertainty and chaos rather than the steady hand."
      — Julia Coronado, (02:01)

2. Upcoming US Jobs Report & Economic Outlook

(02:35–03:52)

• The US economy is currently hard to read; economists hope Friday's jobs report will bring clarity.

• The Importance of the Jobs Report:

  • Michael Gapen (Morgan Stanley):

    "The jobs number is still the most important number that we receive about the economy every month."
    (02:55)

  • Employment statistics are a window into business health (expansion/contraction) and consumer strength (spending power).

• Consumer Impact:

  • Labor earnings drive about two-thirds of US economic activity.
  • Gregory Daco (EY Parthenon) highlights wage compression and 'jobless expansion,' indicating income growth is slowing.
  • Quote:

    "As we start to see further deceleration in income growth, that will constrain more and more families across the U.S."
    — Stephanie Hughes quoting Gregory Daco, (03:44)

  • Increasing reliance on savings and credit might not be sustainable for many households.

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3. Tech Spotlight: Vibe Coding and Its Risks

(05:03–08:09)

• Multbook Case Study:

  • Multbook is a social platform for AI agents—with almost everything coded by AI ("Vibe coded").
  • Security Risks:
    • Wiz, a cloud security firm, found data vulnerabilities on Multbook due to its AI-created code—problems were fixed after notification.

• Defining 'Vibe Coding':

  • Stephanie Hughes clarifies:

    "This is the term for when a person doesn't do the coding to create an application or website, and AI does. And it means that you can whip up an app or a site really, really quickly, but you might not really understand how it works."
    (05:44)

• Accessibility and Proliferation:

  • Building an app via AI can take minutes, enabling even non-coders to make functional tools.
  • Real-world example: a mechanic used Vibe coding for business operations.
  • Namanya Goyal (GigaCatalyst CEO): It's cheaper and faster, but raises questions about data security.

• Concerns:

  • Users of Vibe Coded sites often don't fully grasp the risks.
  • Quote:

    "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain."
    — Stephanie Hughes (08:11), referencing Harry Potter

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Consumers will be seeing higher gas prices pretty quickly." — Julia Coronado, (01:29)

• "The jobs number is still the most important number that we receive about the economy every month." — Michael Gapen (quoted by Carla Javier), (02:55)

• "In a world where the US has been increasingly the source of uncertainty and chaos rather than the steady hand." — Julia Coronado, (02:01)

• "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain." — Stephanie Hughes, (08:11)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• (00:55–02:34): Global market reactions: oil, gold, bonds
• (02:35–03:52): Labor market outlook & importance of the jobs report
• (05:03–08:09): Vibe coding: what it is, security concerns, and societal implications

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Episode Tone & Style

The tone is brisk, informative, and conversational—emphasizing both gravitas (in discussing economic uncertainty and war) and curiosity (when examining tech's rapid evolution). The hosts and guests speak plainly, aiming to make complex trends accessible to a broad audience.

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For more stories and deep dives into global and technological shifts, tune in daily to Marketplace Morning Report.

Transcript

[David Brancaccio]

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[Sabri Benishore]

and Israel's war with Iran is working its way through the world's financial markets. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Ben, ashore in for David Brancaccio. Oil prices have been jumping around this morning, but you can bet they're up about 6 to 7%. Gold, a safe haven for investors, is up about 2%. Let's talk about it with Julia Coronado. She's founder of Macro Policy Perspectives and a professor at UT Austin. Hey, Julia.

[Julia Coronado]

Good morning.

[Sabri Benishore]

So let's start with oil prices. They are up. Supply is threatened, down. Does that persist and show up at the gas pump?

[Julia Coronado]

It probably won't take long for it to show up at the gas pump. It's a pretty big jump. And, you know, we just don't know how long this conflict is going to last. So, yeah, I would say that consumers will be seeing higher gas prices pretty

[Sabri Benishore]

quickly moving on to another corner of the market. Bond yields, usually bonds, are a place people put their money when they get a little freaked out and that results in the yield dropping. That happened and then it didn't. What do you make of that?

[Julia Coronado]

Well, I think we're in a world where markets and investors are increasingly uncertain about where their money is safe. You know, that sort of fits this pattern we've seen in recent months where the typical flight to safety doesn't favor US Interest rates. It's gotten confused in a world where the US has been increasingly the source of uncertainty and chaos rather than the steady hand.

[Sabri Benishore]

Julia Coronado, founder of Macro Policy Perspectives. Thank you so much.

[Julia Coronado]

My pleasure.

[Sabri Benishore]

The exact picture of the US Economy is a little blurry right now. This Friday. Economists hope the picture will come into focus a bit. That is when we get the jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Marketplaces. Carla Javier has more.

[Carla Javier]

It's the one report that can provide some clarity, says Michael Gapen at Morgan Stanley.

[David Brancaccio]

The jobs number is still the most important number that we receive about the economy every month, he says.

[Carla Javier]

It tells economists both about the health of the business sector if it's willing to expand or not, and the health of the consumer, if they'll be willing to spend or not.

[David Brancaccio]

The US Consumer is about two thirds of the overall economy. Most households consume out of labor market income.

[Carla Javier]

And even if unemployment doesn't rise sharply, Gregory Dacko at EY Parthenon says, the

[Stephanie Hughes]

fact that we have a jobless expansion and compression efforts on the wage front by business leaders that are cost conscious leads to an environment where income growth is slowing.

[Carla Javier]

If prices inflate more than incomes grow, that limits spending ability.

[Stephanie Hughes]

As we start to see further deceleration in income growth, that will constrain more and more families across the U.S. and

[Carla Javier]

while savings and credit, he says, can help, he does wonder how much longer consumers will be able to keep spending like they have. I'm Carla Javier for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishore]

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[Sabri Benishore]

You've probably heard by now about a social media platform called Multbook. It's not for people, it's for AI agents to talk to other AI agents. Here's an example read out loud by an AI agent. There's a temptation as agents to automate everything, every repetitive task. But here's what I've learned. Some things should stay manual. So on that very question of what humans should be doing, we've got Stephanie Hughes, who's hosting Marketplace Tech right now. Hi Steph.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Hey Sabri.

[Sabri Benishore]

So Steph Moat Book was is a fun possible glimpse into humanity's destruction. But also it was what is called Vibe Coded. What does Vibe Coded mean?

[Stephanie Hughes]

Yeah so this is the term for when a person doesn't do the coding to create an application or website, and AI does. And it means that you can whip up an app or a site really, really quickly, but you might not really understand how it works.

[Sabri Benishore]

So that though in the case of multiple Book created some security issues. Right. Can you explain that?

[Stephanie Hughes]

Yeah, it did. So the cloud security company Wiz did a review of Moat Book shortly after it came online, and they found they were able to access sensitive information on the platform. A lot of the internal workings. And Wiz told me when they let Moatbook know about the problems, they did get them fixed. But I talked to Ami Luttwak, he's Wiz's chief technology officer, and he said this is a good example of the kinds of issues that can come up when a site or an app is Vibe coded.

[Bank of America Advertiser]

So the app always looks very professional behind the scenes.

[Sabri Benishore]

Actually, it's just one person that Vibe Coded it is that great. Yes. But maybe we should say this site was Vibe coded. Be careful.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Mopa does do this. It says built for agents by agents on the site's homepage. But not all Vibe Coded sites do. And people might not even understand the implications of it.

[Sabri Benishore]

How hard is it to Vibe code something?

[Stephanie Hughes]

It is remarkably easy. I went to one of the platforms that lets you use AI to build stuff and I want my seven year old to learn how to type. So I asked the AI to create a game that my son Will could play. And in like four minutes, it ginned up this game where letters fell from the sky and it was really colorful and the player has to press the right letter on the keyboard to catch. And I tried it out with my son, G. K. And the cool thing is you can actually change the game as you're playing.

[Carla Javier]

It asked it to be slower.

[Stephanie Hughes]

I asked the AI to slow down the speed the letters were coming down. And it worked.

[Sabri Benishore]

Yeah, that's pretty cool. So how disruptive could Vibe coding be in tech? It sounds like very.

[Stephanie Hughes]

It could be a really big deal. There are actually new companies cropping up that advise people and companies how to Vibe code. One of them is called GigaCatalyst. And I talked to its CEO Namanya Goyal. One of my customers is a mechanic. He built an app and now he's managing all of his technicians, his mechanics, and the orders that are coming in with his own Vibe Coded app. Goyal says it's just way faster and cheaper to spin up apps and websites by vibe coding them than paying a coder to do it. But he says people and companies need to really think through whether they want to give an AI sensitive information.

[Sabri Benishore]

Stephanie Hughes, thank you so much.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Yep, it's a little bit like that line from one of the Harry Potter books. Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.

[Sabri Benishore]

In New York, I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace Morning Report from APM American Public Media.

[David Brancaccio]

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